Second Chances
by Tinuviel Undomiel
Summary: Follow up to 5X06 The Bear and the Bow. Belle and Rumple meet some resistance to his return from the town and talk about their relationship.


Disclaimer: OUAT is not mine, this is just an idea of what I feel could happen next for Rumbelle.

A/N: I don't usually do these sorts of things, but last night's episode left me with so many feels that I had to write this down. Plus, I literally dreamed about some of this last night. How can I resist that? I hope everyone likes it.

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Second Chances

Belle took a deep breath once she and Rumple were out of Emma's lair. It was strange being in her presence and sensing nothing but darkness. She had never felt that way with Rumple before, even when he was the Dark One.

 _"Because he never tried to kill you."_ She reminded herself.

It was hard to forget that the Dark One wasn't someone she loved, nor that she had nothing to fear. Rumple was free of the curse, but the Dark One no longer inhabited him. Emma wasn't like Rumple. She had no qualms about killing her.

What had Rumple endured while being a prisoner to the new Dark One? Belle felt a sudden wash of shame. She should have found him sooner. She should have made the others help her find him. He was alone, defenseless, up against the Dark One, an evil he knew far better than anyone, even she would have been afraid.

And yet he didn't look afraid now. There was new confidence in him as he held her hand, walking away from the old curse and darkness that had held him tightly in his grip for centuries. She smiled a little at him. He had been called a coward for so long, even he thought it, but there was no coward beside her. Facing the evil he had been inflicted with for so long, that was one of the bravest things she'd ever known.

Rumple looked over at her, blinking in astonishment. "What is it, Belle?"

Her smile deepened, "Nothing," she said, "I'm just glad to have you back."

She heard a huff from behind her. "And you said he wasn't your sweetheart," Merida muttered.

Belle had forgotten about Merida to be honest. She had been so focused on having Rumple back and free of the darkness that she'd forgotten about their companion. Well, they would have to tell the others what had happened and a place for Merida to stay. Everyone was likely to be at Granny's so that was the best place to start.

There was still a lingering bitterness as how quickly Regina and the others had just pushed Rumple aside like that. She wanted them to see how wrong they were and understand how valuable he was. Besides, Henry would be glad to see him. He was the only other person who really showed an interest in wanting Rumple to wake up.

The bell on the door jingled as she walked in, turning all heads towards the door. A quick scan showed her that David and Snow were both there, as well as Regina, Robin, and Hook. Henry was absent, perhaps out with Violet again.

It wasn't a surprise when people backed away and David and Hook reached for their weapons. After so long of not trusting Rumple, it was be hard to not see him as a threat.

"What is he doing here?" Hook demanded.

"It's okay," Belle said immediately, "He's not the Dark One anymore, remember. He's changed."

"I doubt that."

"It's true," she said with a glare, "He wants to help us save Emma."

"I'd like to believe that," David told her.

"You can," Rumple said softly.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Regina spoke up, giving him a wary eye, "He's always after power."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Belle demanded.

"Well as long as I've known him, he's always wanted more magic, more power. It wouldn't surprise me if he intends to take back his power and become the Dark One again."

"No!" he shouted, "I don't want that!"

"Sounds like the crocodile to me," Hook said, nodding to Regina.

"I don't believe this!" Belle shouted, "He's back for a few minutes and all of you are already labeling him a monster and wanting to cast him out again."

"Like you did, love?" Hook reminded her.

Belle gave him an icy look. "I believed in him. I believed he can change and he has. He just proved that and yet you still want to label him the villain here. You still have no faith in him. Yet you all profess in believing in second chances."

"We do believe in that," Snow told her gently, "but after everything he is done…well how can we trust him? How can anyone?"

"Rightly said, second chances are for people who deserve it," Hook said.

"Oh really?" Belle hissed at him, "This coming from the man who tried to kill me twice and then it took a year for him to even mutter that he was sorry?"

She turned her eyes on Regina next. "And you! You took out my heart and used me as your puppet and never once did you apologize for that."

Regina's eyes flashed at her, but she didn't say a word.

Belle turned to the two "leaders" of the town. "And you two, you have forgiven Regina and Hook and everyone else for their misdeeds, but now your hearts are closed? What does he have to do in order to prove he is worthy of your forgiveness? Die for everyone in this town? Oh that's right, he already did that, or have you all forgotten?"

Belle shook her head at them all. "Every one of you are hypocrites if you won't open your hearts and believe a man can change. If you won't believe in him now, then none of you will be able to save Emma from this darkness."

She gave them all one last disgusted look before turning on her heel and storming out of the diner, letting the door slam behind her. Rumple and Merida both followed her out.

"That was a prickly lot," Merida mused, "I thought they were your friends."

"They are," she said, "They're just being hypocrites."

"It's all right, Belle," Rumple told her.

"No, it's not all right. You've helped them countless times and they have made their own mistakes, but they don't want to forgive you for yours. Even now, after you proved yourself."

"Aye," Merida said, "You faced the Dark One, man. That's not an easy feat."

"I'm proud of you, Rumple, and you should be too," Belle told him. She was so weary of having to defend him from everyone, especially now that he had finally proven himself the man she always knew he was. It had been a long day, and night too. She just wanted to get away from everyone for a bit and be alone with Rumple.

"Let's get back to the shop," Belle said, "It's the safest place right now. I have some protections spells against Emma there."

"Didn't realize you were a bit of a sorceress," Merida said.

"I've learned a few tricks," she replied.

"Well I don't think some spells are going to keep the Dark One out. If you don't mind, I'd like to go off and find my own place in this odd little town."

"Oh, but you can stay with us," Belle said.

Merida shook her head, her unruly curls tumbling about. "No, I'd rather be on my own right now, but thank you."

She slung her bow over her shoulder and walked down the main street, the very picture of fiery independence. Few would doubt that she could handle herself.

Belle took Rumple's hand again and walked with him into the shop. "I have some bandages in the back," she said.

"I'll be alright," he told her.

"You got attacked by a bear, Rumple. I'm pretty sure you are not alright."

"It doesn't hurt that much."

"Don't pretend about that sort of thing, being brave also means admitting when you are hurt," she chided him gently, urging him to sit on the cot while she found the first aid kit. "Take off your shirt," she told him.

"You don't have to do this, Belle," he said.

"You're hurt."

"No…I mean…you don't have to…I don't expect you to…forgive me."

Belle put down the bandages in her hand. "What? Of course I do."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. Rumple, I meant what I said before. I love you and I want to work things out between us. You are a good man; I've always known that deep down. You lost your way for a while, but you've proven that you can change."

"I want to be that hero," he said, "I want to be the man you want me to be, but you don't have to stay if you don't want to."

"But I do want to," Belle said, "I always did. Even after…" She sighed and sat down next to him on the cot. "Rumplestiltskin, I love you. I always have and I always will. I don't like the things you did and I…I won't say I'm not still hurt by them, but I want us to work this all out together. I want us to forgive each other."

"Forgive each other?" Rumplestiltskin said, "Belle, you did nothing wrong."

"Yes I did. I gave up on us. I pushed you away. I should have fought harder for us."

"You pushed me away because I betrayed your trust," he pointed out, "It was my fault."

"That may be true, but I know I still hurt you with what I did," Belle said.

"I deserved it."

"No, Rumple, you can't just wash over everything and put it all on your shoulders. We both made mistakes and we both need to work on how to fix this."

"I want that," he told her.

"So do I," she said, gently brushing his cheek with her fingers. "Now, take off your shirt so I can patch you up."

There was still some awkwardness as he removed his shirt, like they were seeing each other for the first time all over again. In some ways they were. He wasn't the same man she had known all of those years ago, nor was she same woman. Heartbreak had molded them into new people, but the longing was still there, as was the love.

He had lost weight while in his coma and she doubted Emma had fed him well. There were some cuts from the bear's claws, not to mention a spectacular bruise. She hoped he hadn't broken anything, but he didn't appear to have trouble breathing so she guessed not. However, she did notice several slightly older bruises that had no business being on his person.

"Rumple, what was Emma doing to you?"

"That was Merida," he said, "She was trying to get me to fight on Emma's orders, but I was being reluctant."

"So she hit you?" Belle was more than a little tempted to hunt down that redhead and give her a lesson on how to treat people.

"Emma had her heart, Belle, I don't blame her for it."

It still ached to know what he'd been through. Fresh out of his coma and he'd been abducted, tied up, scared, and hurt all so Emma could get that sword out of the stone and do gods knew what with it. And no one in this town could understand how he'd suffered; no one could see how he had changed. Even she had her doubts about it all.

In some ways she was no better than the others.

Tears stung at her eyes as she finished cleaning the cuts and bruises and bandaging them. He was hurt. It was the first time she'd even seen him truly hurt. It was the first time he had come close to actually dying and there being no hope of getting him back, not even a glimmer. He could have died and they never would have known if they could have made things right between them.

"Belle?" he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Oh Rumple," she let out a sob. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his neck. She felt his own arms hold her tightly and his nose bury itself in her hair. "Emma could have killed you," Belle said, "She would have if you had failed. She could have killed you with Merida. I would have lost you, lost _us_ , forever."

Belle had been hesitant since she'd first found him in the library, afraid to take that step. She'd been hurt so badly, cut so deep, but he was here now and there were no secrets between them. He was just was raw and broken as she now. She didn't want to be afraid anymore. It was time to be brave.

She looked up at him with wet cheeks and moist eyes and then craned her head forward until she touched his lips with hers. It reminded her of that first kiss, the one that had started it all. It was pure, it was innocent, it was them.

There was no darkness this time, no curse in need of breaking, just each other. How she had missed this.

He kissed her back, gently, still afraid she would leave again. Never again. If she could hold him close then he would always be safe, always be hers. Right now the Dark One, the town, none of it existed. It was just the two of them together.

The broke apart to breathe, but let their foreheads rest against each other. "I've missed you so much," she said, "It ached to be without you."

"So have I," he said, "You're my heart, Belle. Without you, I have nothing. I am nothing."

Belle shook her head and put one finger to his lips. "Don't say that. You are never nothing. You are mine and you always will be."

She kissed him again, and again and again. Soon that fire that had always been between them stirred back to life. It had been so long since they'd been together, so long and so much pain. She hadn't expected it to return so soon. Maybe it was the fear of what they could have lost, or the relief that they had found one another again, but she started kissing along his shoulder, pushing his shirt away to bear more skin.

"Belle," he said her name with a gasp, "Belle, we don't have to…I don't expect…"

"I want to," Belle said. It wouldn't solve their problems, it wouldn't fix the cracks still there, but she needed to feel him, needed to have him, needed to know he was still here and still hers.

They tore at their clothes, yanking off buttons and ripping thin fabric in their need to feel one another. Once they were bare, they just touched for a while, feeling their skin again and pressing gentle kisses, finding those places again that made them moan and beg.

It was Belle who took control, who brought his hardness and guided it to her core, sinking down on him as they both cried out. He was home again; they were home once more.

She set the pace, slow at first, wanting to savor the feeling of having him again, of being filled with his love and passion. He didn't mind, taking to tracing her curves and leaning up to take a nipple in his mouth, or just wrapping his arms around her middle and breathing her in.

Need won out. A "please" for him was what did it. Belle picked up the pace, changing from soft and slow to fast and hard. She wanted him, she needed him. They'd always been good at this, always felt natural in this moment. It was how they spoke of their love without words, how they dissolved all of their doubts and fears, if only for a little while.

The came together, her inner muscles squeezing around his length, pulling his essence from him with each pulse. She let out a cry, her nails digging into his shoulders. Rumple let out his own moan into her neck, her name on his lips.

They collapsed back onto the cot, still holding onto each other tightly. The world could be shattering outside the shop, but they wouldn't know. There was no one else that mattered, just them.

Belle listened to his heart, his pure heart now, not a bit of darkness left inside. There was still so much to talk about, so much they needed to fix. It would take time, time and patience as they learned each other all over again. But she knew they would survive it, they would come out stronger. She didn't want to think about all of that right now, though. Right now she just wanted to breath in his scent and listen to his heart while he tangled his fingers in her hair.

It was the bell above the shop door that yanked them away from their little private world.

She had rarely locked the shop, knowing that the others may need her help at any time. Now she wished that she had remembered that very important detail.

"Gold?" she heard David call. "Are you here?"

"What do they want now?" she asked bitterly.

"Only one way to find out," he said with a sigh. He put on his pants and buttoned up his shirt as best as he could, but it still left a rather obvious gap. Belle's own blouse was completely ruined so she didn't bother with it, instead just wrapped the blanket around herself. She wasn't going to let him face them alone.

David had brought reinforcements in Hook and Henry. The moment Hook saw them he rolled his eyes. "Not this again."

Henry turned bright pink and looked away, while David just shook his head. "You don't waste any time."

"Why have you come?" Rumple asked them, "Do you want to lock me up?"

"If you do that, I'll never help either of you ever again," Belle declared.

"No, we didn't come for that," David said.

"Though the idea is appealing," Hook said. Henry gave him a kick in the ankle for that.

"No, you were right before, Belle," David told her, "Everyone deserves another chance to prove they can change. That girl, Merida, she came into the diner and told us everything that happened, quite bluntly I might add."

Belle made a mental note to thank the girl later…after scolding her for hurting Rumple.

"I want to save my mom," Henry said, "And I know we need you to help, grandpa. I always knew you could change. I'm glad to see that you have."

"You do have three hundred years of knowledge of the Dark One," Hook said grudgingly, "I suppose we can't ignore that."

"We want you to help us," David said. "Actually…we need you to help us."

A large part of Belle wanted to show them the door after everything they had said, but it wasn't her choice. It was Rumple's. She looked at him, waiting for him to say something.

A wicked smile crossed his face. "I'm sure we can come to a deal then."

The three men all glared at him for a moment, even Belle held her breath.

"That was a quip," Rumple said. Henry let out a chuckle, while Hook scowled at him. Belle nudged him with her elbow, but couldn't stop the smile that bloomed on her face. It reminded her of other times, not necessarily better, but theirs.

"No, I would be glad to help," he said at last, "It's the right thing to do."

David let out a sigh of relief. Belle knew that it would take time for them all, time to build that trust again, but they would do it.

They would do it together.

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A/N: Please review and tell me what you think!


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